An Epic 5 Day Trip to Ooty – An Itinerary

Ooty- the Queen of Hill stations is one of the most popular hill stations in India. Nestled in the Nilgiris District of Tamil Nadu, it is blessed with lush-green landscapes and it’s surreal natural beauty. From stunning viewpoints, expansive tea estates, and placid lakes to gorgeous gardens, there’s a lot to explore and experience here.

Coimbatore Airport is the nearest airport to Ooty at a distance of 95 kilometers. It is around 272 km away from Bangalore. For people planning to make a roadtrip from Bangalore to Ooty, the 6 hours of scenic drive makes it a great weekend getaway from Bangalore City.

What is Ooty famous for?

Ooty is famous for its natural beauty and sprawling tea estates & gardens. The handmade local chocolates & sweets here are a must buy. You can find some freshly grown hand-picked strawberries. Not to forget the different varieties of aromatic teas and essential oils.

All about the scenic route

Finalizing on the best route was quite a task for us initially. As we always crave for scenic routes, we did a little research before finalizing one. As there are 2 routes for Bengaluru to Ooty-

Route 1: Bangalore – Mandya – Mysore – Gundlupet – Bandipur – Mudhumalai Elephant Camp (Theppakadu) – Masinagudi – Ooty.

View Map

Route 2: Bangalore – Kanakapura – Malavalli – Kollegala – Chamarajanagar – Gundlupet – Bandipur — Mudhumalai Elephant Camp (Theppakadu) – Gudalur – Ooty.

View Map

We took Route 1 while going and Route 2 on the way back! Which was the perfect decision.

We started from Bengaluru around 7am and it took us around 7 hours to reach (including 1 breakfast stop). The drive was smooth with picturesque routes. The varying nature of the landscapes made it more special.,

Highlights of the Route, Ooty from Bengaluru-

• A limping highway that leads into a dense forest, which is part of Bandipur National Park, which was a unique experience in itself. We found some Elephants and Deers on our way, if you are lucky enough, you may get to see a tiger too.

• After a flat ride in the jungle, there are 36 steep hairpin bend curves that will treat you with gorgeous views of the valley down below. If you are not a driving enthusiast, you may not like the steep and sharp curves. As Akshay is fond of driving we thoroughly enjoyed the drive.

• You will find some local fresh tea shops on the way. We took a break there to try some tea flavors and click some pictures at the tea garden just behind the tea shop before reaching Ooty. After we entered Ooty, the tall shadowy pines shining bright in the sun, welcomed us. Just mesmerizing!

Best time to visit Ooty

• March to June- The temperature ranges from 17-20 degrees, which makes it pleasant.

• July to October- Monsoons can be a bit windy and humid, which makes it tough to explore it fully.

• October to January- The temperature can go down to 5 degrees making it one of the perfect winter destinations in India.

Trip Itinerary

Day 1- Drive from Bengaluru to Ooty.

Day 2- Explore the Tea Museum & Dodabetta Peak

Day 3- Drive to Coonoor, which is 17 Kilometers from Ooty. Explore expansive Coonoor tea estates & tour to Aromatic oil factory

Day 4- Explore Pine forests and visit the most Pristine Avalanche & Emerald lakes 28 kms from Ooty.

Day 5- Drive back from Ooty to Bengaluru.

Stay in Ooty

We stayed in Hotel La Montana by TGI which was situated a bit away from the hustle bustle of city.
Our experience in this hotel was great.

This hotel is built at an elevated level on the beautiful hills of Ooty. Parking was at the front of the gate entry of reception. We finished the formalities of check-in and the room service staff took us to the room. Surrounded by the spectacular lush greens, the resort greeted us with a warm welcome. Each room was having a spacious balcony, facing the beautiful ranges of Nilgiri hills and the toy train track.

Day by day breakdown with details

Day 1: After having a power nap post lunch, we planned to explore the surroundings in the evening. We headed to the commercial road (nearby market) which was a 15 mins drive from our hotel. Bought some homemade chocolates and handicrafts. After taking a stroll in the whole market, we had an amazing dinner at The Sidewalk Cafe. Details of which are mentioned at the end of the post along with the pictures.

Day 2: We started the day with our daily pranayama/yoga routine on our balcony surrounded by overwhelming beauty of Nilgiri mountains. After having a filling breakfast at the hotel restaurant we left for the sightseeing. The places we covered are shared below.

Doddabetta Peak

It is one of the top picnic spots in and around Ooty. Perched at an altitude of 2637m above sea level, it is the highest peak of Nilgiri Mountains. You can reach here in a vehicle or hike your way to the top. After reaching the top, we got a bird’s eye view of Ooty and lush green forests of Bandipur National Park through the telescopes installed in the telescope house there.

The Tea Factory & Museum

On our way back to the hotel, we decided to visit the the tea factory & museum. It was a great place to spend some time learning all about the evolution of tea, and witness the tea making process from the freshly plucked tea leaves to the final small tea granules that we consume in daily life. I am a tea lover and Akshay literally does not drinks tea. It was kind of a treat for me. I tasted their freshly made tea samples, which were a bit sugary. We took some homemade brownie and chocolates too from the nearby chocolate factory.

We came back to our hotel room in the evening. The weather was getting colder which called for hot Pakoras, Maggie and tea. As we are used to the cold weather (we both are from Uttarakhand), so we were fully enjoying it. Curled up in a blanket, slurping on hot soupy noodles and watching the cold mystical mountain peaks- A perfect ending to the day.

Day 3: We reserved the day for visiting Coonoor. The drive was again very scenic, the roads were flanked by large tracts of tea gardens as far as the eyes could see. The pure freshness and unpolluted green mosaic of the Nilgiris were a real treat to the eyes. The places we loved visiting in Coonoor are shared below.

Highfield Tea Estate

As we got to know this was a 50-year old tea factory which was surrounded by lot of eucalyptus trees on one side and tea plantations sprawling across the slopes in a vast landscape. We captured some pictures amidst the tea bushes to seize those hypnotizing views of the green beds every where. As we already witnessed the tea making process at the tea museum in Ooty, we skipped that part. The tour guide took us to show the eucalyptus oil extraction unit and explained the procedure at their essential oil processing facility. We got to smell the aroma of different oil samples, which was refreshing. One can taste and buy the tea, chocolates and different types of pure essential oil from their authorized shop. We winded up the visit by tasting tea and purchasing stuff from the the shop.

Lamb’s Rock

It is said that this place is named after Captain Lamb who intended to open a road to this place. We got to see some breathtaking views of the surrounding valleys from here. It is just 7 km from Coonoor. We had a little trek to see the view from its top. It’s a romantic one for couples and a good picnic spot for families and children too. We couldn’t capture the view of the landscape as the valley was covered with clouds. Somehow we clicked some selfies that I am sharing here. You can ask the local photographers to capture some of your best shots. As they handover the soft copy and printout of the picture on the spot.

We got back to our hotel by evening around 7pm and ended the day 3 of our Ooty trip with dinner and the cozy and misty view from our balcony.

Day 4: After having a sound sleep in the night we were all geared up to explore some new and exciting locations. Let’s go and check out them with us.

Pine Forest & Shooting Point

If you are a movie buff and a lover of vast landscape in a dreamy location, you will love to spend some time here. We reached here in the morning hours. The sun rays passing through the misty canopy of soaring pines and walking amidst them felt magical. For a moment it felt as if we were in the middle of some movie scene where everything is perfect. Maybe that’s why this location is pretty famous among directors, be it the Hindi or the Tamil Film Industry.

As we headed downhill we found a beautiful lake stretching towards the bottom of the hill.
This place is more crowded in weekends and has a lot of food joints (most of which serves maggie) near the entrance.

Nilgiri Mountain Railway

We found Nilgiri Mountain Railway Station on our way which is a UNESCO world heritage site built by the British in 1908. We stopped there for sometime to click some pictures. Post that we headed to our most awaited stops of this trip- Avalanche & Emerald lake.

Avalanche & Emerald lake

Avalanche Lake is truly mesmerizing, formed naturally in the year 1823 AD due to a massive landslide (Avalanche). It is one of the cleanest and Pristine lakes in India, that showcases the breathtaking beauty of the Nilgiri slopes, and luxurious meadows which totally intoxicates the mind. And Emerald lake is renowned for the emerald color of its waters, surrounded by dense forests. It is one of the best spots to witness sunrise and sunsets.

Easiest Route to the Avalanche & Emerald lake from Ooty– There are unwinding paths around the lake which creates a bit of confusion. To keep it simple and hassle-free, we left from Ooty towards Emerald with the help of Google maps. After reaching Emerald bazaar we took a right turn towards Emerald Road. We stopped there at Emerald lake view point to click some pictures of the lake from above.

After proceeding from here, we reached the bridge from where there was a beautiful view of both the lakes.

We parked our car nearby and went to the bank of the Avalanche lake to actually witness the crystal clear blue water and the serene untouched surroundings. It was just divine.

There are no amenities around the place except the Red Hill Nature Resort which is a little further from the shore of the lake. The various facilities arranged by the resort for tourists include mountain biking, bird watching, fishing and trekking in the regions surrounding the lake.

Best time to visit- After monsoons as the high water level offers great opportunity for trout fishing.

Day 5: This was our last day of the trip which was a bit of a downer because we didn’t want it to end. This end-of-vacation-blues happens to us every time our vacation comes to an end. We planned to compensate this feeling by having an awesome brunch at one of the best places in Ooty, named Earl’s Secret, at the King’s Cliff. You can’t afford to miss chilling at this café if you are in Ooty. Details of which are shared in the end of the post.

Our Top Favorite Cafes in Ooty

The Sidewalk Café: We found this Italian café in Commercial Road right near Charing cross. It looked great for dinner. We liked the vintage interiors of the café, the whole vibe was quite old school. And as they say, it is the only place in Ooty where you can get pizza & pasta cooked in a wood fire oven. We had Bruschetta & Pizza along with the mojitos. Food was really good.

Earl’s Secret: It is located in King’s Cliff Hotel. The place seemed to have an old world charm which was enchanting. It had indoor and outdoor seating (inside a glasshouse). We chose to seat inside the glasshouse as it looked catchy. It is a multicuisine restaurant and we ordered Broccoli soup, ‘Bhutte ke kebeb’, and Fettuccini Alfredo Pasta. Food tasted awesome, specially the Broccoli soup. After the lunch we took a small walk around the hotel and clicked some pictures.

Over all our Ooty trip was amazing and memorable one. As everything ran as smooth as it could from the apt weather to the whole journey. We had a fabulous 5 days vacation and we would definitely recommend everyone to visit Ooty at least once.